


vidi, vici, veni

by atimi (bertee)



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ancient Greece & Rome, Attempted Rape, Dubious Consent, Fights, Gladiators, M/M, Rough Sex, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-21
Updated: 2010-07-21
Packaged: 2017-11-02 03:45:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/364612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertee/pseuds/atimi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared is a famous, rough gladiator who's never been beaten. When Jensen arrives, scared, inexperienced, and now locked up with a bunch of sex-deprived gladiators, Jared has to decide how much protection he wants to offer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	vidi, vici, veni

The games are tomorrow.

They're a big deal, held by the emperor to celebrate his victory over some nation that Jared has never even heard of, and they need to be spectacular. The amphitheater was flooded to stage a sea battle yesterday and today some other gladiators are fighting wild animals imported all the way from Africa. The people need to be impressed, and tomorrow Jared knows that it'll be his job to impress them.

The thought of the impending battle and the need to conserve his energy is enough to keep him in his seat when a familiar commotion arises at dinner time.

With his back to the wall, Jared watches passively as Munius and Scarro stalk towards their prey. It's always the same way with new blood - an old-timer takes their food at dinner; the new guy protests, apparently shocked that the rules of polite society don't apply in a breeding ground for dead men; and then the new guy learns the rules the hard way at the feet of the old-timer and his friends - but the familiarity of the routine doesn't make it any more enjoyable to watch.

This new guy barely put up a fight when they took his food, and from the way he backs up against the wall near to where Jared's eating, Jared knows he's still doing his best to avoid a confrontation.

"You can have it," Fresh Meat says nervously, not meeting their eyes. "I don't want any trouble."

"Trouble?" Munius repeats, mockery in his tone. "You're already giving us trouble, boy. Ain't that right, Scarro?"

"Damn straight," Scarro says. "Weak little fuck don't deserve to be breathing our air."

He shoves Fresh Meat back against the wall and Jared sees him curl in on himself as much as he can. He's about the same height as Scarro and a little taller than Munius but he's greener than pondscum and wouldn't know what to do with the size advantage even if he had it. Jared wasn't paying attention when the guy was tossed into the training arena earlier in the day but he guesses Fresh Meat is a slave who's been sentenced to death the hard way. He looks like he's from the North, all pale skin and green eyes and full lips, but he's underfed and skinny and looks like he'd earn better money in a brothel than in the arena.

Jared wonders what he did to deserve to die like this.

A few feet away, Munius punches the guy across the face and he stumbles, hand pressed to his cheek as he shrinks back against the wall. "Please, don't-"

Scarro follows with a punch to the gut and Fresh Meat drops to his knees on the ground, winded, while Scarro moves in for a kick. Jared raises his eyebrows when the new guy lashes out in return - there's some fight in him at least - and elbows Munius in the side and grabs Scarro's ankle to pull him off balance. It's almost enough to let him get away and to slip back into the crowd of the dozens of other gladiators in the school, but the new guy is too distracted by the opportunity to escape to notice Damax stepping up to meet him.

The Greek is bigger than the new guy, trained and confident where Fresh Meat is inexperienced and terrified, and holds the distinction of being unbeaten in the arena (and only beaten one during sparring), and Jared looks away in sympathy when he slams his knee into the new guy's stomach.

Fresh Meat drops instantly, coughing and gasping, and then the other three are on him, kicking and punching and beating as Fresh Meat tries in vain to shield himself from the blows.

Jared hears Munius, always a mouthy fucker, yelling as he lays into the man on the ground, punctuating his words with vicious kicks to his back and stomach, "Fucking cocksucking cunt. You're gonna be crawling out in front of that crowd tomorrow, bitch."

"Please-"

Jared wants to tell Fresh Meat to keep his mouth shut, that they'll only beat him harder if he begs, but he keeps his own mouth closed when Scarro grabs the new guy by the hair and hauls him up to look up at Damax. There's blood running down the guy's face and from the way he curls an arm over his stomach as he kneels up, Jared knows he's hurting from the beating. Damax slaps his cheek, playful but sharp, and Fresh Meat whimpers as Damax says, "This here? This is my turf."

Jared rolls his eyes but Fresh Meat looks terrified as Damax continues, "You do what I say when I say it. You got that, bitch?"

"Y-y-yes. Please, just-"

He can't get the words out before Damax tugs on his hair and snaps, "You talking back to me?"

"No!" Fresh Meat blurts out, panicked. "No, I didn't-"

Scarro hits him again to shut him up and Damax strides away, playing to the baying crowd as he says, "You're still not paying attention, bitch." He smiles nastily. "I think he needs putting in his place."

Jared props his foot up on a seat with a sigh. No matter what Fresh Meat had said, it was always going to end up with Damax finding some excuse for him to be 'put in his place'. The assholes like Damax come and go, killed or freed or sold, but the brutal induction is constant, in the same way that Fresh Meat's life will become constant bullying and beatings until he dies or learns how to survive.

He stands to watch Munius and Scarro drag Fresh Meat through the crowd toward the heavy wooden table in the center of the room. The usual cheers and slurs are coming from the rest of the gladiators, and Jared sees new fear blossom on the new guy's face when he realizes what's about to happen to him.

Somehow, Jared's glad to know that he's not that naive.

He's also glad to see Fresh Meat's struggles redouble. The other gladiators part to let Jared through and he has a good view when Munius slams him down onto the table as he shouts, "No! Let me go!"

Laughter rises up from the gladiators when Munius smacks the new guy across the face so hard that his head bangs against the table. That's not enough to stop him from fighting, scratching at Munius' face and trying to kick Scarro away as his tunic is pushed up and the cloth pulled away from around his hips, but the blows keep falling. His desperate defence becomes weaker with every hit and by the time Damax steps between his legs, cock in hand and a cruel smile on his face, the new guy is disoriented and bleeding.

"Please," he begs above the jeering laughter of the rest of the men. "Don't, please! I'll do anything, just please-"

Damax backhands him and the guy sobs, fighting uselessly to get free. Scarro pins his hands to the table above his head, leaving his body open and vulnerable as Damax lines himself up and reminds him, "This is where your place is, bitch. On my dick whenever I say."

Fresh Meat is crying now, scared and trapped and seconds away from being fucked raw, and Jared takes a reflexive step forward when Damax closes a large hand around the guy's pale throat, crushing out the last of his struggles as he steals his breath away. The guy gasps for air, lips parting uselessly, but Damax ignores him and prepares to push himself inside the man he's strangling to death.

"Stop."

Damax freezes. Jared feels panic flare up at his own stupidity but it's too late to back down so he steps up to meet him. Terrified green eyes lock on his as he looks at the man pinned to the table like a sacrificial victim, and Jared squares his shoulders when he faces off with Damax. "That one's mine."

Damax lets go of Fresh Meat's throat, but Jared doesn't spare him a glance as he coughs and sucks in air, instead flashing a cocky smile in Damax's direction as he says, "We both know I get the first pick around here, and I pick him."

"Too late," Scarro chimes in, looking to Damax for confirmation. "He's already taken. Ain't that right, boss?"

"Right," Damax says. "You're too late, Jared. This one's mine now." He demonstrates his ownership by gripping the new guy's flaccid dick and tugging hard enough to make him cry out and try to pull away, and he offers Jared a broad smile, minus the teeth he lost in the games two months ago. "You can have the next one."

Jared's expression darkens. "I don't like waiting, Damax. I don't give a fuck if you walk around here like you own the joint but you're still just a slave. We all are, so unless you want a rematch for the title of best fighter in this place, you'll back the fuck down and hand him over." He looks around at the hushed crowd. "Of course, if you want everyone here to see how fucking pathetic you are when you've had your ass kicked, by all means, fight me for him. Hell, the new recruits will be lining up to fuck you when they realize how much of a goddamn pussy you really are."

Damax's face turns red and his fists are clenched when he steps forward. "Goddamn cunt."

"Bring it," Jared retorts, looking up to meet Damax's eyes. "Just don't expect those asslickers to hang around after I rip your dick off and shove it down your throat." Damax sneers and Jared lifts his chin. "Try me, fucker. Give him to me or lose your dick."

He can see the shift in Damax's eyes before he speaks and Jared keeps his triumphant grin down to a smirk when Damax says, "Fine, take him. He'll be dead tomorrow so you might as well fuck him while you can."

On his nod, Scarro throws the guy off the table to the ground where he curls up on his knees at Jared's feet and stays quiet.

"Looks like he learns quick enough to me," Jared says. "It's not like he's gonna be my problem after tonight anyway."

"He's gonna be your problem until midday tomorrow," Munius says with a grin. "Felicius has you fighting with him in the arena against my two friends here."

He gestures to Damax and Scarro and Jared tries to hide his surprise. "He's fighting?"

"He's dying," Scarro corrects, kicking Fresh Meat in the side. "A pussy like him ain't gonna last long in the arena. It'll be the easiest kill I ever had."

Jared grimaces. He knows the school-owner's talent as a showman, and he doesn't doubt that he's paired the new guy with Jared for maximum dramatic potential; the crowd will get their death, Jared will defeat the other gladiators in 'revenge', Damax and Scarro will live to fight another day, and Felicius will keep his roster full of trained gladiators while pocketing a sizeable fee for the performance. It's perfect, but Jared's stomach still flips at the thought of the new guy's guts spilling out onto the sand of the arena.

"Guess we'll find out tomorrow." Reaching down, he hauls the new guy to his feet and ignores the way the guy flinches in fear as he looks over to Damax. "No-one disturbs me for the rest of the night. Are we clear?"

A murmur of assent ripples through the group and Jared nods, satisfied. Gripping Fresh Meat's upper arm, he drags him down towards his room and wonders what the fuck he's going to do with him now.

 

+++

 

"I-"

"Shut up," Jared barks out. He shoves Fresh Meat into his room and slams the door shut behind him as he tries to work out what to do next. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the guy standing awkwardly by the wall and he mutters, "Whatever you wanna say, I don't wanna hear it."

"Thank you."

Jared raises his eyebrows in disbelief and repeats dully, "Thank you?"

"For s-stopping them," Fresh Meat stammers and Jared finds himself laughing at the stupidity of it.

"You're thanking me? Really?" He stalks towards him, backing him up against the wall as he taunts him, "How do you know I'm not gonna do the same thing? Maybe I want to throw you down on my bed, fuck your pretty little ass raw, and then toss you back out there so Damax can have my sloppy seconds. Would you still thank me then?"

The guy's eyes are wide and frightened, and despite Jared's intentions to the contrary, his dick starts to harden as he crowds the guy in against the wall and watches him cower back. He looks even paler in the dim light of Jared's room, freckles visible despite the blood and bruises on his face, and Jared feels a sick little thrill at the terrified noise the guy makes when Jared draws himself up to his full-height and slams his hand against the wall by the guy's head.

"Please-"

The thrill doesn't last long. He's never been one to fuck an unwilling partner - there are plenty of whores available whenever he wants someone in his bed - and he steps back to let Fresh Meat sag against the wall in relief. "M'not gonna fuck you," he says and then adds, because some fear is healthy, "Not yet anyway."

The guy nods quickly and Jared turns away again, stripping off his clothes and walking towards the washbowl.

For a few minutes, the room is quiet, filled with nothing but the sound of their breathing and the splash of water on Jared's bare skin. The noise from the yard fades out soon enough when the rest of the gladiators retire for the evening, and Jared sees the sun dip below the line of his high window as he rubs the washcloth over his hips and thighs.

The torches flicker on the walls of his room and he glances over his shoulder to where the new guy is standing against the wall, apparently too scared to move.

Taking pity on him, he initiates a conversation as he washes the dust and sweat from the day off his legs. "What's your name?"

"Jensen," the guy says quietly.

"That's not Roman," Jared says, curious but not willing to display anything more than casual interest. "Where are you from?"

"Beyond the Rhine. I-" His words come to a stop but Jared gestures for him to continue. "I'm a slave." He frowns. "Or I was a slave. I don't know how that works anymore."

"What'd you do to end up here?" Jared asks. "Slaves don't get punished in the arena for nothing."

He turns to look at him, washing down over his chest and stomach as he goes, and he sees Jensen's eyes skitter away from his dick as he answers, "They thought I stole something from my master. It was important and expensive and they thought I should be punished for it."

"Where did you hide it?" he asks, intrigued, but Jensen shakes his head.

"I didn't take it. I tried to tell them but..."

He trails off and Jared fills in the blanks himself. "Tough break."

Jensen swallows nervously. "What about you? You're the best fighter in this place, you're famous-"

"I'm just the same as you are," Jared cuts in. "For what it's worth, I got sold to a gladiator dealer in Illyricum after a rebellion, but people's pasts don't matter all that much here. What counts is the arena and whether you make it out alive."

He wipes down his arms, the water cooling in the evening breeze, as Jensen asks, his voice barely above a whisper, "I'm not going to make it out alive, am I?"

Jared shrugs but doesn't lie. "Probably not. Everyone's expecting you to die; Felicius wouldn't have put you in this match if he wanted you to live."

Jensen closes his eyes and Jared watches in sympathy, knowing how terrifying the looming spectre of the arena is.

"Am I fighting you?" Jensen asks. "They said you were there tomorrow too..."

"We're on the same side for the fight," Jared explains. "Me and you against Damax and Scarro. I'm a good fighter but not good enough to keep you alive out there against those two."

He soaks the cloth again and rubs it across the back of his neck as Jensen steps forward and asks, "Can you teach me to fight? You can fuck me or use me or whatever else you want in return, but I don't want to die out there. Please." He moves closer, bruised up and bloody but determined. "You don't need to teach me everything, just something I can use to defend myself. It's gotta make it easier for you too if you're paired with someone who can help you, right?"

"When am I gonna teach you?" Jared asks. "The sun's already setting and the fight is at midday tomorrow."

"Sunrise," Jensen pleads. "That'll give us a few hours. It doesn't need to be much - I just need something. Please, Sir-"

"It's Jared," he corrects. He swipes the cloth over his face and pushes his damp hair back with a sigh. "Fine. I'll do what I can in the morning but even if I do teach you, don't expect to live to see another sundown." He drops the cloth back in the water. "And this is the one favor you get from me. I don't train fresh meat like you so you better be obedient as a fucking dog tonight and tomorrow."

Jensen nods quickly and steps forward again when Jared reaches for the curved metal of the strigil to scrape the remainder of the dirt and sweat off his body.

Jensen's hand closes around it to and he asks timidly, "Let me? I used to do it for my master."

Jared hesitates but lets go of the strigil, figuring that he could take Jensen without breaking a sweat if it came to a fight.

The air is cool on his wet skin and his skin prickles into goosebumps as Jensen runs the strigil over one arm and then the other. He's obviously done it before and he angles the scraper to glide over the contours of Jared's biceps, lifting off the sweat and the water to leave fresh, clean skin underneath. Jared's fingers curl and then straighten when Jensen moves over a recent, aching scar, but that reaction is enough for Jensen not to repeat the move, instead curving the strigil around to avoid the sensitive area.

Jared lets out a slow breath, closing his eyes and dropping his head to his chest when Jensen steps behind him to do his back. The metal slides down his ribs, moving in a line from Jared's broad shoulders to his narrow hips, and Jared finds himself craving the occasional warm touches from Jensen's fingertips instead of the cool metal as he scrapes gently across his shoulders.

The flames on the walls flicker and dance in the wind, and Jared opens his eyes to see the fire and then Jensen as he walks in front of him and starts on his chest and torso. Jensen keeps his eyes lowered but Jared's already interested cock gets harder when he sees the heated flush of Jensen's cheek as he moves the strigil over the planes of his torso. He has the professional touch of a slave but the pressure of the edge of the strigil against his nipples is enough for Jared to start thinking of other ways this could go.

Nevertheless, he stays quiet, listening to his own heart pounding in his ears and feeling Jensen's breath against his collarbone while he cleans him off.

It's not so simple to ignore their proximity when Jensen sinks to his knees with easy grace, leaving his face only inches away from Jared's hardening dick.

Jared closes his eyes and tries to will his erection away. He doesn't have sex the night before a fight, and despite his earlier threat, he doesn't want to force Jensen into bending over for him, and so he fills his mind with thoughts of blood and death and carnage to distract himself from the way the strigil - and now Jensen's hand - is inching up the inside of his leg.

Thoughts of death do nothing to stop his dick from filling, and against his better judgement he moves his feet wider apart to let Jensen reach as much skin as possible. With his eyes closed, Jared feels the pressure of the metal stop on the crease of his thigh, almost touching his cock, but he then hears it clatter to the floor as Jensen crosses the Rubicon and wraps his hand around Jared's dick.

Jared groans helplessly at the first tentative strokes, pushing his hips forward into the touch, and Jensen takes that as encouragement, stroking harder and soon adding a twist of his wrist on the upstroke at just the right time. His other hand is on Jared's balls, cupping and rolling and teasing, and Jared groans louder at the sudden, wet press of lips to his sac.

"Fucking..."

Jensen's tongue follows a moment later, flicking over his balls before licking up the underside of his dick at a speed that has Jared begging wordlessly for more. Jensen continues to stroke his shaft as he covers the fat head of Jared's cock with kitten-licks, licking the curve of it, curling his tongue against the slit, and lapping eagerly at the precome that Jared knows is being pushed out. He wants to look, wants to see what Jensen's red, red mouth looks like covered in spit and precome, but he forces his eyes to stay closed as hot, wet heat envelopes the head of his dick.

Jared's big and he knows that, and so he can't hold back a whimper when Jensen just takes more and more and more of him into his mouth. Jared's expecting him to choke, to pull back with a cough, but his lips part in a moan of disbelief when his whole cock is sheathed inside the warmth of Jensen's mouth. Jensen's nose bumps against his stomach and Jared feels his throat struggle to accommodate the length of him, but he swallows around him and Jared has to bite his lip to stop him from coming.

"Shit..." He groans. "Fuck, that's good."

The praise is accompanied by a clumsy pat to Jensen's head and Jensen pulls back a little, adjusting his angle before he starts to pick up speed. He works fast, bobbing his head to let Jared's dick slide in and out of his mouth as he licks and sucks and swallows as fast as he can, all the while rolling Jared's balls and tickling along his taint until Jared feels like liquid fire is coursing through him. With a hand in his hair, he thrusts to meet Jensen's movements, fucking into his willing mouth as he hears him moan around his cock like he loves it, like it's turning him on just to be gagging on Jared's dick.

He's close before he can even get into a rhythm and he gives up on the steady fucking, instead pushing his cock deeper into Jensen's mouth as he feels his balls tighten with the rush of the oncoming explosion. His eyes fly open before it hits and he doesn't know whether it's the feel of Jensen's mouth on his dick or the sight of him, wide-eyed and on his knees with a mouthful of cock, that sends him over the edge.

He comes with a shout, cursing and gasping mindlessly as he pulls out to shoot over Jensen's upturned face. It feels like he's coming again as fresh arousal mingles with the ecstasy of the high when he watches his come fall in thick, messy streaks across Jensen's lips and cheeks and eyelids. It drips down off his eyelashes when he opens his eyes, and Jared bites back a moan when Jensen's pink tongue darts out to lick Jared's come off his lips.

Some strange part of Jared wants to kiss him, to taste his own release on Jensen's lips and feel Jensen shake apart in his arms as he comes, but he ignores the urges as he turns to wipe his dick off quickly with the cloth.

He hears Jensen get to his feet and says gruffly, "Clean yourself off and then get into bed. I need some sleep."

He doesn't bother to look behind him to see if his instructions are being followed while he crosses the room to slide into bed. He tries to put Jensen out of his mind and to focus on his side of the fight tomorrow, but when he hears the splashing sounds of Jensen cleaning himself up, it's hard to make himself believe he's alone.

It's even harder when the mattress dips behind him and Jensen climbs into his bed. Jared can feel him shaking, more from nerves than cold, and when he wraps his arm around Jensen's slim waist to pull him close, he tells himself that it's only because Jensen's shivering would keep him awake if he didn’t.

After all, the games are tomorrow. He needs his sleep.

 

+++

 

Jared's tough on him during the training session the next morning.

Deep down, he knows it's probably misplaced anger at Jensen - Jared doesn't fuck before a fight and Jensen had no right to coax him into that - but that doesn't stop him from snapping and griping every time Jensen misses a hit or gets the move wrong or is too fucking slow and weak and untrained to do anything but die where he stands.

Jared can't teach him much, given the time restrictions and the fact that Jensen's been a domestic slave since he was nine, so he focuses on one. It's not his best move, not clean, not skilful, not impressive, but it's one that Jensen can use at least once, and if he's lucky, it might buy him a few more seconds of life.

There's nowhere to train in private in the school, and so they find themselves over in a corner of the training ground, Jensen armed with a shield and Jared with a fake wooden sword as they practice Jensen's defensive moves under the eyes of the other gladiators clustered around them.

"Moving kinda slow this morning, bitch?"

Jensen flinches at Scarro's shout, dropping his shield enough that Jared could move in to put a blade through his neck if he wanted to.

"Focus!" he barks out. "Ignore the crowd and focus on me."

It's a good rule for the arena too, and Jared makes a lazy attack as Jensen lifts his shield again, the wood of the sword cracking against the wood of the shield.

"Did he fuck you?" Munius sneers. "They got whores that can't take Jared's dick - no wonder you're so fucking bowlegged."

The words are obviously getting to Jensen and his cheeks redden in embarrassment as he tries to fend off Jared's blows.

"Maybe Jared was the one taking it," Damax says from his position at the side of the group, his voice jeering and pointed. "He walks and talks like a man but I bet he just loves spreading his legs and getting fucked like a woman every chance he gets."

Jared's own face heats at the lies and he lunges harder at Jensen, bringing his sword down so hard that tremors reverberate through the wood of the shield.

"Pussy!"

One of the other gladiators takes up the shout, and it builds from there, mockery and scorn pouring from all quarters about how Jared must love to get fucked, and how he needs a real man to kick his ass if he's bending over for a bitch like Jensen. There are taunts too as they keep training, comments about how Jared can't even beat Jensen in training, about how he's lost his edge, about how he's going to die today out there in the heat in front of thousands. They tell him how Damax will kill him, how he'll be weak and pathetic, how the crowd will cheer for his death, how the vultures will pick apart his rotting corpse, and Jared can't take it anymore.

With a surge of rage, Jared kicks the shield out of Jensen's hand and smacks him to the ground with one vicious backhand to the face.

It's enough of a demonstration of his dominance, enough proof that he's still a man and still a fighter, but his chest tightens with guilt when Jensen looked up at him, stunned and hurt.

The cheers rise up, people crowing that they knew Jared would never bend over for a fucking bitch, and Jared swallows back an apology when Scarro leans over to spit in Jensen's face before the crowd disperses. He hears the call for the day's fighters to move to the carts, and he holds out a hand to Jensen, still feeling guilty for hitting him so hard.

"We should go."

He's almost expecting Jensen to cower back again but his guilt is quickly replaced by a new kind of pride when Jensen pulls himself to his feet on his own and looks towards the carts. "Okay."

His cheek is already red from where Jared hit him but before he can try to offer an apology, Jensen's eyes move over to him and he says, scared but determined, "I'm ready."

 

+++

 

The arena is terrifying.

Jared doesn't have any other words to describe it. Sure, it's huge, well-structured, important, and filled with half the population of Rome, but he can never bring himself to focus on anything other than the undiluted fear that comes with standing out in front of an immense crowd of citizens and fighting for his life.

He's already bleeding.

The midday sun beats down on his bare back and shoulders, soaking his hair with sweat and affecting his grip on the sword. There's sand in his shoes, his shield is heavy on his arm, and his leg is bleeding sluggishly from where Damax caught it with one of his swords. He's exhausted and hurting and scared, but all of that is overpowered by the desire for victory that crackles in his blood, the same desire that's kept him alive these past six years.

He's back-to-back with Jensen who, miraculously, is still alive, and they're moving in a slow circle as Jared faces off against Damax. In the background, the crowd roars and hollers, a faceless ocean beyond the sand of the arena, but Jared focused on Damax, on the way he wields the two swords he's armed with, on the wound on his left arm, on the break in his armor, and on the sneering grin on his face. "Maybe you should be the one who dies today, Jared."

He lunges and Jared deflects and they fall back into the holding pattern as Damax continues, "My men just want to kill your boy but I want you dead."

"You always wanted me dead," Jared retorts, ducking a blow and slamming his shield down on Damax's knee to make him stagger backward in pain. "Every since I kicked your ass in that fight, you needed me out of the way so you could be number one." He grins. "Tell me, Damax, what's it like being a second-rate has-been? Do you cry into your pillow at night or does sucking Scarro's cock make it all better?"

"Fuck you!"

One of Damax's swords clatters against Jared's shield and Jared stumbles under the impact as the second blade comes up to catch his upper arm, just above the line of his armguard. Blood drips down onto the sand and Jared grits his teeth against the pain as Damax moves in. "I don't suck cock for nobody, motherfucker."

He smiles darkly as Jared avoids another strike. "I hear your boy does though. Someone told me you sounded very happy with how well he sucked your dick last night. Hell, I should kill you just so I can have him. There's a lot of the guys who want a piece of him - I could make good money whoring him out."

Angry at the thought of Jensen on his knees for someone else, Jared swipes with his sword but struggles to parry both of Damax's blades with his single one as Damax taunts, "I think I'll fuck him right here over your corpse. How about it? The last thing you see will be me splitting that little slut open on my dick. That's one hell of an image to take with you to the afterlife."

He grins, wide and mocking, and something inside Jared snaps. Forgetting the plan of protecting each other's backs for as long as Jensen lasted, he runs at Damax with a yell.

Damax doesn't even have time to raise one of his blades when Jared drives the metal boss of the shield into his face, knocking him backwards to make him bellow in pain and spit cracked teeth into the sand. Jared pounces again but despite his size, Damax moves quickly, shifting around behind him and directing a stab at Jared's back that he only just manages to deflect in time.

He hears a sharp cry from across the arena and he looks over Damax's shoulder to see that Scarro has taken advantage of the opening too.

Armed with a net and a dagger, he's overpowered Jensen now that Jared isn't there to support him, and Jared dodges the edges of Damax's flashing blades as he sees that Jensen is down and struggling desperately against the net as Scarro drags him across the ground.

Too late, Jared realizes that he was tricked; he was goaded into breaking formation and leaving himself and Jensen open to attack, but with Damax standing between him and Jensen, he knows there isn't much he can do.

Ducking another blow but getting an elbow to the gut at the same time, he sees Scarro pull Jensen up to his knees, still entangled in the net, and he prays to whichever gods are listening that Scarro's love of playing to a crowd doesn't fail him now.

He turns his full attention back to Damax just in time to block a clumsy attack from the left, and from there it's all too easy to raise his shield to trip him up and to use Damax's own moment to send him crashing to the ground. However, Damax is quick and before Jared can move in for the kill, he's on his feet with his sword drawn in a move that barely avoids taking Jared's ear off.

Twisting and raising his shield at the same time, Jared again plays off the momentum of Damax’s angry charge to shove him to the side, wrenching a sword out of his hand as he goes.

The crowd yells but Jared can't tell without looking whether the cheers are for him fighting Damax or for whatever Scarro is doing to Jensen. Satisfied that Damax has been partially disarmed, he kicks the sword away and looks around to see that Jensen is on the ground and scrambling backwards as Scarro stalks towards him with a raised dagger.

The audience starts to chant, the familiar cry for death now orchestrated by Scarro as he yells and encourages them. Jensen backs up with the shield still strapped to his arm but his sword lost somewhere in the fight, and as Scarro kicks him in the gut, Jared makes his decision.

He sends up a quick prayer that he won't regret it later.

As anticipated, Damax charges again but Jared changes his strategy. His parry is brief and he feigns a slip, stumbling backward and lowering his shield to keep his balance. Damax stabs at the first opportunity, driving his sword at the newly identified weak spot in Jared's defence, but Jared recovers quickly and slams the shield into his head with as much power as he can possibly put behind it.

When Damax falls, Jared wants to cry with relief. He's not unconscious, and he's barely horizontal for more than a few seconds but the distraction and momentary weakness is all Jared needs.

Tearing across the arena, he tosses his shield away to allow himself more speed before running at full tilt towards Scarro while the crowd chants out its pleas for blood. Jensen is on his back, struggling in fear as Scarro stands over him and raises his knife in the air. He doesn't need the emperor's permission for the execution - Jensen is already condemned - but he glances up at the emperor anyway to receive the signal to continue.

Jared ignores it all, the emperor, the crowd and the bloody knife about to be plunged into Jensen's chest, as he runs forward with no plan beyond saving Jensen's life.

Scarro looks up but his face doesn't have time to register anything other than surprise before Jared drives his sword through his throat.

The crowd erupts, but Jared can't tell if the noise is positive or negative as he watches Scarro's bloodied lips part in shock, looking almost comically stunned at his own death.

Blood trickles from his mouth, with still more blood splattering across Jensen's face and body when Jared pulls the sword back out again, and Scarro falls to the side, sprawling out in the sand in an undignified slump. He gasps for air, blood pouring from his throat, and the hair prickles on the back of Jared's neck at the sound of Scarro's last wet breath before he drops into death.

On the ground, Jensen stares up at him in grateful disbelief but his eyes widen and Jared sees fear cross his face even before he can yell, "Jared, behind you!"

Jared ducks reflexively but doesn't get down far enough as Damax's sword swings towards his head in a smooth stroke.

The blade misses him by inches but he's too slow to avoid the follow-up blow as Damax brings his elbow down hard against Jared's temple.

Light sparks behind his eyes as he goes down hard, sand scraping against the open wounds on his limbs while he tries to get himself together. His shield is already lost, thrown away in the sand when he went to rescue Jensen, but he raises his sword as best as he can, disoriented, nauseous, and doomed as Damax towers over him.

Damax blocks out the sun that's riding high in the sky and he seems bigger and taller than the whole goddamn arena when he kicks Jared's sword out of his weak grip and raises his own weapon in preparation. For the first time in his life, Jared hears the crowd screaming for his death and as Damax glances up at the imperial box, Jared knows he's been given permission to strike that final blow.

Jared kicks out, but he's still feeling the effects of the blow to the head and his kick doesn't land. Damax stomps down on his stomach in return and Jared gasps and blinks up through blurry eyes as Damax looks down at him with a scornful expression on his face. "Make your peace with the gods, Jared." He laughs. "I'll look after your bitch for you."

Jared's head throbs but as he sees the light glint off the blade poised above his chest, he offers up a prayer that both him and Jensen will be taken care of after Damax kills him. His heart pounds against his ribs, his head feels like it's full of fog, and his whole body aches from the fight, and he closes his eyes as he braces himself for death.

"No!"

Jared's eyes fly open again in time to see Jensen run at Damax. He's holding Jared's sword and his own shield, which he raises when Damax whirls, slicing through the air towards Jensen's head.

Dazed, Jared smiles weakly when Jensen stumbles backward but deflects the strike, providing proof that Jared's hurried training paid off.

Running through the practised movements in his head, he watches as Jensen follows his instructions to the letter and tilts his shield forward to drive the edge into Damax's stomach. Damax doubles up, coughing, and Jensen brings the shield down on his feet, making him overbalance and topple backward.

The move is basic but effective, but it's the extent of Jared's teaching, and he wills Jensen to get back out of the way now that he's bought himself a few more seconds. Jensen ignores his earlier advice, however, and presses on with a clumsy, untrained attempt at running Damax through with the sword.

A quick parry and a punch, and Jensen's on the ground once more, and Damax doesn't even bother to look up for imperial approval as he hefts his sword up above Jensen's head with the mocking insult, "You stupid, fucking cunt."

He brings his arms down, a two-handed grip designed to slice through Jensen's skull, but Jared's mouth drops open at the killing strike.

Damax's sword falls harmlessly to the ground by Jensen's head. The man himself stumbles backward, eyes going impossibly wide when he looks down to where Jared's sword is sticking out from his stomach, both of Jensen's hands wrapped around the hilt.

Jensen looks just as stunned as Damax does but he drives deeper, pushing the sword out through Damax's back and making blood flow down his stomach to drip onto the sand of the arena. Damax chokes, blood spilling out through his cracked teeth as well as trickling along the metal of Jared's sword, and he blinks at Jensen in disbelief, "You..."

His words cut off into a bellow of pain when Jensen pulls the sword out, and he drops to his knees, hands pressed uselessly to the wound as his lifeblood turns the sand red around him.

"Fucking cunt..." he gasps out, audible over the shocked silence of the crowd.

Jensen doesn't do anything, just holds the bloody sword in shaking hands as Damax collapses, his sturdy body going motionless as death steals him away.

The silence stretches on, thousands of spectators unable to decide how to react to the death of an undefeated gladiator at the hands of a slave put in the arena to die, and Jared pulls himself up to his knees as he looks up at the emperor for his reaction.

The imperial box is too far away to see his face but Jared nearly sinks back to the sand again when the emperor raises his hand in a gesture of approval.

The roar of the crowd is deafening and Jared staggers to his feet to look around at the crowds of senators, equites, plebs, and slaves cheering and shouting his name. Jensen gets up to stand beside him, caked in sweat and covered in blood that isn't his own, and Jared knocks the sword away as he takes Jensen's hand and raises it aloft with his own.

The cheers increase in volume and Jared adds his own voice to the celebration, unable to believe that he's telling the truth as he yells in triumph, "We won!"

+++

 

The celebrations start before Jared can even slide the lock in place on the door of his room.

He was full of twitchy energy on the ride back to the school, knowing that he was getting prize money from the emperor himself and solidifying his place as the best gladiator in the school, but also basking in the simple fact that Damax and Scarro were dead and that he and Jensen were alive. He kept his eyes on Jensen the whole way back, seeing the relieved smile on his face and wanting nothing more to strip his armor off and fuck him right there in the cart.

Fortunately, the high of victory lasted and Jared feels it thrumming through him as the door bangs shut under the weight of Jensen's body being slammed against it.

Jensen's kissing him, hot and rough and needy as Jared fumbles to get the lock into place before kissing him back. He bites at Jensen's mouth, catching his lower lip between his teeth and tugging as Jensen arches against him, his cock already hard when he presses their hips together.

"We won," Jared murmurs, letting go of his lip to kiss along Jensen's jaw where he tastes the blood and the sweat on his skin. "Fuck, we really won."

Jensen groans as Jared grips his hair and tugs his head back to scrape his teeth along his bare throat. "Thank you," he whispers, bucking up when Jared lowers a greedy hand to palm his dick through the cloth around his hips. "You- I would've died if you hadn't helped me."

"Right back at you," Jared says, biting down on the side of Jensen's neck and sucking a deep bruise into his skin. The next time they leave this room, there'll be no question about who Jensen belongs with. "You killed Damax. You. The scared little slave who's never held a weapon before."

Their cocks grind together and Jensen pulls him in for another messy kiss before he says, "I'll do better next time."

Jared grins, opening his eyes long enough to meet Jensen's gaze. "I can't wait to see it."

He kicks his sandals off and uses his teeth to unfasten his armguard before doing to the same to Jensen's. They clatter to the floor, and Jared laughs at Jensen's breathy little gasp when he whips the cloth off his hips with one swift tug. The force of it makes him turn around and Jared pushes him face-first against the wall as he pulls off his own cloth and whispers in his ear, "M'gonna fuck you."

His cock rides the groove of Jensen's ass and he smiles when Jensen pushes back eagerly, resting his forehead on his crossed wrists as he murmurs, "Please..."

There's oil on the table in the corner, usually used to keep the torches burning, and Jared grabs the small amphora as Jensen adjusts his position against the wall and spreads his legs. Jared moves to stand behind him but he hesitates before using the oil, smoothing his hand over Jensen's shoulders to feel the old scars on his sunwarmed skin and then stroking his thumb below a long, fresh cut along the curve of his ribs.

Jensen hisses but doesn't pull away, and Jared rewards him with a kiss to the back of the neck. Jensen pushes back further and Jared groans as his cock slides along the ridge of Jensen's ass, thick and heavy and curving up towards his stomach as he pulls the amphora open and lets some of the clear oil run down the crack of Jensen's ass, trickling over Jared's dick and over Jensen's tight little hole.

It's cool against his sensitive skin and from the sharp intake of breath, he guesses Jensen's having the same issue. He runs his thumb down the path left by the oil, lifting his cock out of the way as he rubs his thumb over Jensen's hole in slick circles, nudging at the tight muscle until Jensen's gasping and trying to push back onto his hand. "Fuck, please... Please..."

He moans when Jared eases inside, filling him up quickly with his thumb and then replacing it with two and three of his fingers. Part of him wants to slow down and watch how Jensen's ass takes him so readily, but his dick is aching and his blood is still filled with the need to fuck and claim and celebrate.

Against the wall, Jensen moans again, hips moving in a steady rhythm, but his eyes snap open when Jared spins him back around and crowds him in against the wall. Jensen's cock rubs against his, precome spilling out from both their dicks and mixing as they grind together, but Jensen cries out in frustration when Jared hoists him up against the wall. It's hard - his body is tired from the exertion of the fight - but it's worth it when he gets Jensen's legs hooked over his arms, his hole open and vulnerable and his eyes glazed and wanting.

"You need this, don't you?" he asks, moving himself and Jensen's body so that the head of his dick is nudging at his ass.

Jensen's head drops forward and his breath becomes a punched-out gasp when Jared forces the head of his cock through the tight ring of his asshole. "Yes. Want you-"

He cries out when Jared pushes in further and he lets out a choked moan that almost has Jared coming from the sound alone when he slides his dick the whole way inside Jensen's ass. "Fuck!"

Jared moves his hips, testing the range of motion, and Jensen leans forward to pull him in for a dirty, messy kiss as he says, barely coherent, "Please, let me..."

His legs push against Jared's grip and Jared gets the message. He adjusts his position and groans as Jensen wraps his legs around his torso, keeping his back supported against the wall and sinking right down onto Jared's dick. Supporting him with one hand, Jared pulls out and slams back into his ass, laughing against Jensen's shoulder when he squirms and whimpers and pleads, "More-"

Jared obliges. The pace is punishing, fucking hard and deep into Jensen's ass as he bucks and writhes in Jared's arms. Blood runs down Jared's leg from the cut on his thigh and it mixes with the sweat and the oil dripping from both their bodies as he pounds into Jensen so hard that dust is shaken loose from the wall to fall down over them. Jensen doesn't seem to care and mashes their lips together in a kiss that's all teeth and tongues, both of them hungry and eager after the excitement of the day.

Jensen's body opens up around him and Jared thrusts harder at the feel of the tightness of Jensen's ass around his cock, clenching perfectly as Jared fucks him with force. Jensen clutches at his shoulders, his back scraping against the wall as he rides Jared's dick, and Jared bites down on Jensen's lower lip when Jensen's fingernails rake over his skin, leaving his own proof on Jared's body that they're together.

The pain pushes Jared higher and he feels Jensen bury his face against his neck as he cries out helplessly, rolling his hips to meet his thrusts and pushing himself down on his dick as much as he can, "Jared, I need-"

Jensen's cock brushes against his stomach as he struggles to find some stimulation, and Jared reaches down to wrap a hand around it, concentrating on the purely selfish rationale that he wants to see Jensen beg and scream and come, and this seems like the best way to get to that.

The effect is instantaneous when Jensen sobs, movements becoming desperate and irregular as Jared jerks his dick while fucking him open on his cock at the same time. Jared thrusts in roughly, arm aching with the effort of holding Jensen up, but the heat in his belly only increases as he watches Jensen get closer to the edge, face flushed and lips parted with a gasp of ecstasy.

His cock twitches in Jared's hand and Jared catches a breathless cry of his name right before Jensen comes. His body jerks and tenses, his head falling forward onto Jared's shoulder and his ass clenching around Jared's dick as his release spurts out across their bare chests and stomachs, come mixing with blood and sweat from their day in the arena.

Jared fucks him through it, getting closer and closer to his own peak with each deep thrust, and as Jensen clenches around him in the aftermath of his orgasm, Jared gives in and follows him over the edge. He pumps into Jensen's ass, his release hitting him harder than he anticipated, and he leans into Jensen and the wall for support when he finally bottoms out inside Jensen, filling him up with come and letting every last ounce of energy drop away as he rests his head against Jensen's shoulder.

They're both panting when Jared slips out of Jensen to let him lower his feet back down to the floor, and Jared just about manages to stay upright long enough to wipe himself down with a cloth before dropping into bed. The sun isn't down yet but he's exhausted, physically and mentally, from the stress of the day and from the intensity of the fight and the fuck.

"Can I-"

Jared cracks an eye open at Jensen's aborted question and sees him standing there, bruised and tired but alive and safe.

"The bed-" Jensen begins timidly but Jared rolls his eyes and then shuts them again as he tugs the covers back for Jensen.

"Get in here."

He doesn't need to open his eyes again to know that Jensen's smiling as he climbs into bed and settles down beside him. Jared wraps an arm around him, feeling his muscles protest as he tugs Jensen in close, and Jensen curls up to fit himself easily against his body. He's not shivering tonight, not doing anything but breathing peacefully in Jared's arms, but as Jared tightens his embrace and drifts off to sleep, he figures that he doesn't need an excuse.

They won, and Jared can celebrate however he wants.


End file.
